Rich Archbold: Centenarian Ruby Norlin Westby doesn't want to brag, but she should

To her way of thinking, she really hasn't done anything special or out of the ordinary.

How wrong she is.

Here are just some of Ruby's achievements:

She kept her family together through the Great Depression and World War II.

She raised three fine sons who have great families of their own, including seven grandchildren and six great- grandchildren.

Through all those years, she had accounting jobs to help pay the bills. One of those jobs was chief accountant for David Tallichet, who started a string of specialty restaurants with the Reef Restaurant in Long Beach and got the restaurant lease on the Queen Mary one year after it arrived in Long Beach in 1967.

Ruby gets credit for naming "Sir Winston's," the premier restaurant on the Queen Mary, after Tallichet asked her to come up with a name.

Ruby spent more than 35 years working with the acolytes at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church at 370 Junipero Ave.

She was a "paper mom" for the Press-Telegram. In those long ago days, the Press-Telegram delivered bundles of the paper to the homes of adults like Ruby. She then would distribute the papers to paper boys who would deliver the papers door to door.

Oh, and did I mention that Ruby just celebrated her 100th birthday with many friends and relatives at a giant party at the Reef, the restaurant started by her beloved Mr. T., who passed away in 2007?

But she was reluctant to talk about her life. When I asked her to tell me about her 100 years, she said, "Oh, I don't know. That would be bragging."

It may be bragging to her, but to her family and friends, Ruby's life has been extraordinary.

"Mom was the kingpin," said her son Tom, who lives with his wife, Mary Lou in Scituate, Mass. "She worked day and night and then got us ready for school. She was unbelievable."

With her latest birthday, Ruby joins a growing number of people in the United States who have reached centenarian status.

The 2010 census estimated that there are 53,364 centenarians in the nation, an increase of 5.8 percent over 2000. The majority of these senior citizens are women. Women make up 44,202 of the total, an increase of 9.4 percent. Men account for the remaining 9,162, a decrease from 2000 of 8.9 percent.

And the number of people reaching 100 will only intensity in the years ahead. The American Automobile Association reported that 10,000 Americans are turning 65 every day. The New York Times reported recently that since 1900 the life expectancy of Americans has gone to just under 80 from 47 years.

Ruby was born Ruby Sena Jacobson on Aug. 27, 1912, in Arena, N.D., a small town near Bismarck, the state's capital. That was the same year Gene Kelly, Perry Como, Julia Child and Woody Guthrie were born. And that's also the year the Titanic sank and was the day when Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes" first appeared in a magazine.

Her father was a drayman, a freight handler. She had one brother and three sisters, all gone now.

When she was 18, the cute, curly-haired Ruby was named Miss Bismarck. "I don't want to make a big thing about that," she said last week, displaying those same curls and infectious smile.

She married Sexton Norlin, a carpenter, but they divorced. In 1940, after moving to Long Beach when the Navy transferred her and her accounting job from Bismarck to Long Beach, she married Waldemer Westby, who died in 1965.

Her three sons all graduated from Wilson High School. Tom played football at Wilson and Long Beach City College where he played in the Prune Bowl against O.J. Simpson. The sons are scattered now, Tom near Boston, Dennis in Palm Desert and Bucky in Auburn.

After her family, Ruby said she is proudest of her work at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.

"I have a strong belief in God," she said. "I love my church and go when I can."

She also loved to cook, especially those big Thanksgiving dinners. Her health is pretty good and tries to walk as much as she can. She broke her hip in a fall a few years ago and now lives in the Marlora Manor, 3801 E. Anaheim.

Not all is golden in the so-called golden years.

When I asked Ruby if she was looking forward to her 101st birthday, she answered with a trace of sadness in her voice: "Oh, I don't know. I think I've had enough. There's a limit to everything. But God is not finished with me."

She said she misses having her family around more often. What helps keep her going are people like Helen America, her caregiver and "an angel sent from Heaven"; Chuck Iverson, a retired friend; and Doris Tukua, a friend.

"And I still read the Press-Telegram every day," she said proudly.

She also is proud of a letter she received at her 100th birthday party from President Obama.

In his letter, the president called Ruby's birthday "a momentous occasion" and told her, "Your life represents an important part of the American story, a century of memories ... hope filled with tremendous pride and joy. Enjoy many more happy years."

In her true, modest fashion, Ruby said of the president's letter, "I don't want to make a big thing out of this."